Spring 2018 Tech Series Webinars

AHEAD’s Standing Committee on Technology, in partnership with its Technology Special Interest Group (SIG) and ATHEN, has once again designed a series of fall webinars designed to provide information for the disability resource office and the technology staff on your campuses. The titles this year are based on your requests for information most important to your daily work.

As always, you are welcome to listen to the webinars live and participate in the conversation through chat or phone line OR listen to a fully recorded and captioned Adobe Connect session whenever it’s convenient for you. Use the webinars as professional development for yourself and your staff or to develop knowledge and interest in accessibility with IT folks on your campus by listening with colleagues.

All AHEAD Technology Series webinars are scheduled on Tuesdays at 3:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern Time.

Complete instructions for participating and presentation slides are sent via email prior to each webinar. All webinars are captioned in real-time, with audio supported via an operator-assisted phone line. Links to the recordings will be sent to registrants who make a request after each session. See upcoming spring webinar information below.

Additional Resources

AHEAD Tech Series Upcoming Webinars

Audio Description in Higher Education

Tuesday, March 6, 2018, 3:00-4:00 Eastern

Presenters: Terrill Thompson, University of Washington

Audio description for video, like captioning, is required by the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 at Level AA. Without it, individuals who are unable to see the video may be missing key information, if that information is presented visually, but not audibly. However, unlike captioning, most higher education institutions have not yet integrated audio description into their video production workflows. This webinar will explore audio description from three angles: Options for having videos described, options for delivering descriptions, and strategies for prioritizing videos for audio description.

Section 508 -- What You Need to Know

A refresh to Section 508, the part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that speaks directly to the accessibility of information and communication technology (ICT) was released last year, and the final rule went into effect March 20, 2017. All agencies to whom the refresh applies were required to comply by January 18, 2018. Whether the law applies directly to your institution or not, experts agree that it helps to set a baseline for accessibility. Join us to take a look at the law’s impact on higher education. Exactly what is Section 508? Does it apply to you, and how is it affected by the refresh? What do you need to know? Learn how Section 504 and 508 can work together to enhance access.

Electronic Data Management: Options for improving service delivery and record keeping

If you are staggering under all the paperwork related to the accommodations process and students who use your office are still carrying around papers, we want you to know there’s a better way! Join us for this discussion of database systems that make life easier for disability resource staff, students, and faculty. Directors from offices that have adopted the use of different database system, including Accessible Information Management (AIM), ClockWork, and an internally developed system will discuss their processes for determining which system provided the best fit for their office, implementing the system, and the lessons we learned and challenges we faced along the way.

How to Test Webpages with a Screen Reader

Join us to learn the basics of using screen reading software to both navigate a website and test for accessibility failures. In this webinar, you will learn: how screen readers work; the most useful keystrokes and features of screen readers that are used to navigate web pages; and the differences between the most popular desktop and mobile screen readers. You will also get a primer on how to evaluate web pages for accessibility issues using screen reading software.

Speaker Bios

Jamie Axelrod, M.S. is the Director of Disability Resources at Northern Arizona University and President of AHEAD. Jamie presents regularly on topics related to disability access and higher education, having expertise in disability law and policy, communication and information technology (ICT) access, and the reasonable accommodation process. Jamie is a respected contributor to professional listservs, having received the Fink-Ryan Award for the quality of his guidance, and a go-to consultant for complex issues. He has worked for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s athletic department, as a mental health therapist, and for Protection and Advocacy Systems, Inc., a disability rights advocacy law firm where he served as an advocate for individuals with disabilities who were claiming that their civil rights had been violated. Jamie has served as co-chair of Northern Arizona University’s Commission on Disability Access and Design and on AHEAD’s Board of Directors.

Reed Claiborne, M.A. is the Director for the UALR Disability Resource Center, and has served UALR and the department since 2012. He earned his Bachelor’s in Speech Communication and his Master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling both from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Reed has a passion for working with students with disabilities and has presented on learning disabilities at conferences and workshops. Prior to earning his Master’s, Reed worked in the business sector and coached youth sports. In addition to working closely with students and faculty, he is the DRC liaison to the campus on accessible facilities.

Gaeir Dietrich is the director of the High Tech Center Training Unit (HTCTU) of the California community colleges, and the systemwide trainer for Section 508 compliance. Gaeir has served on the advisory boards for AHEAD, Bookshare, DIAGRAM Center, the Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC), and the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center (SVILC). In 2010-2011, she served as the chair for the Federal Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) in Postsecondary Education. She is a contributing author to Beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act, published by NASPA.

Joe Humbert, Senior Accessibility Specialist at Interactive Accessibility, brings a breadth and depth of accessibility experience that is both engaging and transformative for organizations applying over 13 years of experience supporting & engaging in accessibility efforts. His experience combines implementing accessibility at an institutional level, a technical background in web development and design, as well as an extensive background in Special Education. Joe always uses a people-centered approach to accessibility. He attributes his success in helping people achieve a high level of accessibility integration to his personal connection to and extensive interaction with the disability community as well as his frequent collaborations with internal and external developers. He meets people where they are, creates a vision for where they need to be, and then journeys with them to make it a reality. During his nine-year tenure at Indiana University, Joe collaborated with colleagues at peer institutions to work with multiple fortune 500, education-focused companies, and was a core member of the Big Ten Academic Alliance. He continues to utilize his extensive experience in training, leading workshops for all levels of people within an organization. He also regularly presents on digital accessibility at international conferences and is the current treasurer of the Access Technologists Higher Education Network (ATHEN) professional organization.

Hadi Rangin, M.S. is an information technology accessibility specialist for Accessible Technology Services at the University of Washington. Hadi works with DO-IT, promoting accessible design for students across the nation and working with staff, developers, administration, and technology vendors. As a blind technology users, one of his primary missions is to promote the creation of software that is accessible from the ground up, a passion that requires extensive collaboration. Hadi studied network management at Karlsruhe University and completed his master’s degree at Oregon State University.

Heidi Scher, M.S. is the Associate Director, Assistive Technology at the University of Arkansas’ Center for Educational Access. She works with students, faculty, and staff to ensure equitable access to the University community. Heidi has extensive experience in presenting at state, regional and national venues, as well as providing training and assistance to the University of Arkansas’ community on a variety of disability-related topics. A long-time member of Ark-AHEAD, ATHEN (Access Technology in Higher Education Network) and AHEAD, she has served on the executive committees of Ark-AHEAD and ATHEN. Heidi earned a bachelor degree in Counseling Services to the Deaf with a minor in Interpreting from East Central University and master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, specializing in Deafness from the University of Arkansas. As a believer in life-long learning, Heidi is currently working on a second master’s degree in Educational Technology.

Terrill Thompson is technology accessibility specialist with the University of Washington. In this role, he works to promote information technology accessibility by giving trainings, developing resources, providing consultation and support, and conducting research. He does this for the UW community as part of UW-IT Accessible Technology Services , and does it for the rest of the world through The DO-IT Center (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, & Technology), where he works on projects such as AccessComputing, funded by the National Science Foundation. Terrill has over twenty years' experience in the IT accessibility field, and has presented at numerous conferences and consulted widely with organizations in education, government, and private industry on IT accessibility issues.